Illinois Names Financing Team for $4.5 Billion Bond Offering

/ MyRadioLink.com

September 22, 2017 04:05 pm

Springfield (Sept. 22, 2017) – The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget announced today that it has selected the financing team for an upcoming $4.5 billion sale of general obligation bonds by the State of Illinois.

The $4.5 billion in bonds will be a negotiated sale and is part of the $6 billion in bonds authorized by the General Assembly earlier this year. In addition to the $4.5 billion sale, the state plans to competitively bid $1.5 billion in general obligation bonds. Both series are expected to go to market in October and close in mid-November. Proceeds of the bonds will be used to pay down a portion of the State’s bills.

Governor Rauner agreed to sell the bonds to provide relief to vendors with unpaid bills, some of whom have carried the state’s debt for over two years. Nearly two-thirds of the bill backlog is accruing late payment interest at the annual statutory rate of up to 12%. The bonds will enable the state to finance the state’s obligations at a more favorable rate.

Bond and disclosure counsel is Chapman and Cutler LLP and co-bond counsel are Burke Burns & Pinelli, Ltd. and Charity & Associates, P.C. The state’s financial advisors for the transaction are PFM Financial Advisors LLC and Public Resources Advisory Group.

“The team my office has selected is highly qualified, experienced, diverse, and includes firms in national and regional financial sectors, as well as firms owned by minorities, women and veterans,” said Scott Harry, Director of GOMB.

Additionally the state plans to issue up to $750 million in general obligation bonds in December, 2017 for fiscal year 2018 capital projects through a competitive bidding process.